Upon the bloodstained mound
by Thriefty
Summary: Within the iron batter's box, two people wait for their time to end. It seems that the blood red Touto Tower would be their graves... [Tokyo Serial Bomber Case, Volume 36]


Upon the bloodstained mound

**9:28**

**9:27**

**9:26**

The timer ticked relentlessly downwards. It cared not the panic around it, nor was it conscious of what it was about to do. It continued its job, the numbers falling away one by one, into the abyss of time where it could not be retrieved. Time passed, unconscious of the fates it was bringing to the two stuck within the elevator.

Actually, only one was actually inside the elevator. A uniformed officer spoke placatingly into the phone, apparently trying to calm the other person on the line. His usually pitiful face had been replaced by a sombre look and his tone was more serious than it had ever been. Takagi-keiji calmly and rationally informed the other person on the phone of their situation; the outburst that followed was enough to tell anyone in the vicinity that his partner, Sato-keiji, was far from calm.

"I wish I could at least get Conan-kun out..." Takagi's voice drifted out of the elevator, up the elevator shaft, to where the second person sat, silently watching time tick away. He reacted to his name, moving away from his previous task and leaning closer to the emergency exit. In the dim emergency lights that escaped from the elevator, a small figure was revealed. A boy, no more than 8 years of age, sat atop of the elevator. The weak light only managed to reflect off his useless glasses; the shadows of the shaft had done well to hide his own despondent look. Not that Takagi-keiji would look up. He was busy trying to placate Miwako Sato, his partner and more. A small smile graced the lips of the child. At least he was still able to talk to his most important person...

Conan shook his head at the thought. It wasn't as if he couldn't make the call. His phone was right there in his pocket and if Takagi-keiji could make his call from within the iron batter's box, tens of metres underground, the reception couldn't be that bad. However, two reasons prevented him from dialling the number. The first was the more normal, rational, logical reason; the person he wanted to call was currently having examinations and would not appreciate her phone ringing in such an important part of her life. Knowing her, she had forgotten to turn off her phone again. A ringing phone would be treated with the same seriousness as it would in a real examination; the phone confiscated and her being banned from taking any other papers. He would probably end up on another hospital bed if he dared press the call button, even though they both knew it was partially her fault.

He shook the whimsical smile off his face. The other reason he did not call lay in the fact that there was nothing she, or anybody could do. The situation was so dire that even her immense strength would fail to help extricate him. Furthermore, it was unlike him to worry her. He was always the one telling her to not be afraid and to trust him; he hated the thought of her being worried for him. He had seen it more times than necessary, and did not want to add to the count. Her tears cracked her heart - and broke his.

**8:31**

**8:30**

**8:29**

Despite it being an electronic timer, he could still hear the ticks and tocks that counted to their doom. The bomb, despite being mostly disassembled, was still working.

Its three most important wires remain uncut - A yellow for the monitor, a white for the mercury switch and a black for the remote detonator. A set of pliers lay discarded beside the bomb. It would take less than a second to cut all three wires with them. Yet, Conan made no effort to pick them up. He stared bleakly at the monitor's screen, his mind recreating the message he had seen.

**"Courageous officer, I praise your bravery and grant you a prize. It is the whereabouts of an after-game highlight, a great firework. Display time is 3 seconds to detonation. I wish you luck."**

The words that caused the death of the bomb disposal officer, Matsuda Jinpei, had returned. The deep-seated grudge of the bomber had lead him to recreate this situation, where the morality of the trapped officer would be tested. He would have to choose between only two choices, the first was the life of the officer trapped in the lift, the second was the lives of 12 million Tokyo inhabitants. One life against many.

There were no other choices. He had worked out all the clues given - every puzzle, every riddle, yet it was not enough. He could not pinpoint the exact location of the bomb. It was a school, but which school? Being the day of the nation-wide mock examinations, there were many schools filled with students, all appropriate targets for the bomber. He lacked the ability to deduce the specific location of the bomb, thus had chosen. Takagi-keiji had dipped his head in grim acknowledgement, telling him that his choice was right. Two lives were to be sacrificed for 12 million.

It was time to explain everything to Takagi-keiji. Not his secret of course. But Takagi-keiji needed to know his deductions. He was the only one that had already completely decoded the message, but he couldn't use his own phone to send it. The message would lose credibility if sent from a child's phone. Less questions would be raised if the extremely high deductive capabilities had come from a uniformed officer rather than a 7 year old. It was a far better choice than Kudo Shinichi's phone, which was a landmine all of its own. He motioned the uniformed officer to come closer.

**4:32**

**4:31**

**4:30**

Takagi-keiji was full of questions, clarifying all the bits of deduction. He was dutiful as well, typing all the relevant information into his phone. Really, all the qualities of a good officer was present, hidden below his naivety. With more experience, he could become a wonderful Inspector in the future. Really...

"So, we must rely on the hint to pinpoint the location of the bomb, just as Detective Matsuda had done in the past." Takagi-keiji said solemnly after all explanations were over.

"Yes." Conan replied with a nod. "Besides, there may be this someone... Someone most important to me, that I want to protect the most in the world..." For _her_ alone, he was willing to give his life.

"I'm sorry." He lamented his inability to save the officer, who was supposed to have a life ahead of this had he not stepped into the elevator to save him.

"Don't be... It's not you fault." was Takagi's reply. Takagi-keiji's eyes had wandered back to him, as if trying to solve some unseeable enigma. Eventually, Takagi-keiji spoke.

"Conan-kun, won't you tell me one more thing?" The officer asked, fumbling slightly over his words.

"Exactly... who are you?"

He dipped his head. He wasn't startled by the question. Some part of him already knew it was coming. In this period of time, where the threat of death had hung over them, Conan had not bothered with his facade. His mask was forgotten, the lives of millions of people took precedence. A small part of him wanted Takagi-keiji, the young, naive but talented officer, to ask this question.

He already knew his answer to it.

"I'll tell you... in the afterlife."

His answer echoed in the lift, carrying a slight timbre that only existed within his original voice. A hopeless smile appeared, one that had accepted death as a choice, one that would never appear upon a child's face. His eyes turned slightly misty, yet held a tender look... He turned away.

"2 more minutes, Takagi-keiji. I hope you are ready." The high pitch of the child returned, but the sombre tone stayed.

"Yes." The officer became stern. He readied his phone, the only means of communication with the outside world, and waited for Conan's signal.

It would soon be time. He dropped all his deductions and focused on the LED screen. His grip on the pliers tightened. He waited as the numbers on the screen descended.

**0:05**

2 more seconds...

**0:04**

1 more...

**0:03**

**E**

The single letter aroused one of his wild guesses. That particular one stuck to his mind...

**0:02**

**V**

Because it was the one place he wished the bomb would not be...

**0:01**

**I**

Because... that place... was where she was...

**0:00**

**T**

RAN!

_-SNAP-_

**0:00**

**0:00**

**0:00**

The bright numbers that counted to their doom faded away. The bomb had been dismantled. And together with it went the full clue for the final bomb. His hands shivered. Did he make a mistake? Were there any other places that could have housed the bomb? Would the police be able to dismantle it in time, without the bomber noticing?

He forcefully pushed away his fears. What was done, was done. He had to hope he was not wrong. He turned to inform Takagi-keiji with the news. In his heart, he prayed that he was not wrong and she would soon be safe.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This particular story has been sitting on my desktop for ages. I've finally come around to publish it after doing some clean ups. Volume 36 Chapter 7 was the start of the Tokyo Bomber's case, one of my favorite cases. This is the case where Takagi-keiji directly asks Conan who the hell he is, and many fanfics about Takagi finding out about Conan spawns from here. I've read many stories showing Takagi's side of the story, how he is baffled by Conan poise in the situation, but for this fic, I wrote it in Conan's perspective. I always wanted to write how he felt before he says his "I'll tell you in the afterlife" line. Even in the threat of death, he refuses to reveal his identity... In a situation where Ran's not around, and he's about to die, he'll probably chose to die as Edogawa Conan and let Kudo Shinichi fade into oblivion. If Ran's around, however, things will probably change...

R&amp;R!


End file.
